I remember

This poignant poem was written by Terry Forster, reminiscing about days gone by …

I REMEMBER

I remember the cheese of my childhood,

And the bread that we cut with a knife,

When the children helped with the housework,

And the men went to work not the wife.

The cheese never needed a fridge,

And the bread was so crusty and hot,

The children were seldom unhappy

And the wife was content with her lot.

I remember the milk from the bottle,

With the yummy cream on the top,

Our dinner came hot from the oven,

And not from the fridge in the shop

The kids were a lot more contented,

They didn’t need money for kicks,

Just a game with their mates in the road,

And sometimes the Saturday flicks.

I remember the shop on the corner,

Where a pen’orth of sweets was sold

Do you think I’m a bit too nostalgic?

Or is it….I’m just getting old?

I remember the ‘loo’ was the lav

And the bogy man came in the night,

It wasn’t the least bit funny

Going “out back” with no light.

The interesting items we perused

From the newspapers cut into squares,

And hung on a peg in the loo,

It took little to keep us amused.

The clothes were boiled in the copper,

With plenty of rich foamy suds

But the ironing seemed never ending

As Mum pressed everyone’s ‘duds’.

I remember the slap on my backside,

And the taste of soap if I swore

Anorexia and diets weren’t heard of

And we hadn’t much choice what we wore.

Do you think that bruised our ego?

Or our initiative was destroyed?

We ate what was put on the table

And I think life was better enjoyed.